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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiquas 


1980 


Technical  Notes  /  Notes  techniques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Physical 
features  of  this  copy  which  may  alter  any  of  the 
images  in  the  reproduction  are  checked  below. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  mellleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Certains 
ddfauts  susceptibles  de  nuire  A  la  quality  de  la 
reproduction  sont  not6s  ci-dessous. 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couvertures  de  couleur 


D 


Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 


□ 

n 


Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 


Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d6coior6es,  tachetdes  ou  piquies 


Tight  binding  (may  cause  shadows  or 
distortion  along  interior  margin)/ 
Reliure  serrd  (peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou 
de  la  distortion  lid  long  de  la  marge 
int^rieure) 


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Coloured  plates/ 
Planches  en  couleur 


Show  through/ 
Transparence 


Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 


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Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  bibliographiques 


n 


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Seule  Edition  disponible 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 


Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


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Additional  comments/ 
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The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
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filming  contract  specifications. 


Les  images  sulvantes  ont  4t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettet6  de  I'exemplaire  film6,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
fiimage. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche  shall 
contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  CONTINUED"), 
or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"),  whichever 
applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaTtra  sur  la  der- 
nlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  lo  cas: 
le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le  symbole 
V  signifie  "FIN". 


The  original  copy  was  borrowed  from,  and 
filmed  with,  the  kind  consent  of  the  following 
institution: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


L'exemplaire  film6  fut  reproduit  grflce  A  la 
g6n6rosit6  de  I'^tablissement  prdteur 
suivant : 

BibliothAque  nationale  du  Canada 


Maps  or  plates  too  large  to  be  entirely  included 
in  one  exposure  are  filmed  beginning  in  the 
upper  Inft  hand  corner,  left  to  right  and  top  to 
bottom,  as  many  frames  as  required.  The 
following  diagrams  illustrate  the  method: 


Les  cartes  ou  les  planches  trop  grandes  pour  dtre 
reproduites  en  un  seul  clich6  sont  fiim^es  d 
partir  de  Tangle  sup6rieure  gauche,  de  gauche  d 
droite  et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'iinages  nicessaire.  Le  diagramme  suivant 
illustre  la  m6thode  : 


1  2  3 


1 


6 


•AUitktta 


CANAIJA'S  ACTUAL  CONDITION 


To  my  article  in  the  P^cbruary  number  of  this  Magazine  on  '*  The  Dis- 
integration of  Canada,"  Mr.  Watson  Griffin  has  done  me  the  honor  of  a 
reply,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Consolidation  of  Canada."  While  my 
critic  exhibits  ability  and  moderation  in  his  paper,  he  does  not  contribute 
much  to  the  disproof  of  my  facts,  or  the  rebuttal  of  my  arguments.  In- 
deed, most  of  my  points  and  assertions  with  reference  to  the  present  con- 
dition of  the  British  North  American  provinces,  the  feelings  of  the  people 
of  each,  their  material  and  financial  condition,  with  its  disappointments 
and  effects,  and  the  prevalent  social  and  other  evils,  have  been  skipped 
by  unnoticed  for  sketches  of  confederation,  Canadian  parties  under  new 
names,  the  different  national  elements  of  the  population.  North-west  mat- 
ters, etc.  I  enjoy  narratives  and  disquisitions  on  such  subjects,  however 
remote  from  the  course  of  my  facts  and  arguments,  but  they  would  carry 
greater  weight  if  free  from  strong  party  coloring  and  more  closely  con- 
nected with  the  questions  discussed.  With  the  exception  of  the  liberal 
space  devoted  to  the  few  paragraphs  I  occupied  with  the  Riel  affair,  Mr. 
Griffin  has  spent  his  force  on  only  two  or  three  minor  points  of  my  article, 
showing  in  the  handling  of  them  a  hypercritical  spirit.  I  need  at  present 
supply  only  one  example.  He  objects  to  my  application  of  the  word 
"  British  "  to  the  English-speaking  population  of  the  Dominion,  and  elab- 
orately analyzes  its  elements  to  show  that  the  majority  are  not  of  "  English 
des  ~ent  ;  "  that  the  Irish,  as  to  numbers,  come  before  the  English,  the 
Scotch  after  the  latter,  or  fourth,  and  the  Germans  fifth,  on  the  census 
returns.  In  new  countries,  like  Canada,  possessing  a  mixed  population, 
national  designations  are  not  ordinarily  used  with  perfect  accuracy  ;  and 
for  brevity,  large,  comprehensive  appellations  are  preferred,  particularly 
when  such  bonds  of  connection  as  race  relationship  and  a  common  lan- 
guage can  be  pointed  to.  Everybody  in  the  Dominion  wishing  to  distin- 
guish the  French-speaking  from  the  English-speaking  inhabitants  usually 
applies  to  the  latter  the  designation  "  British,"  however  well  aware  of  the 
composite  nature  of  this  section  of  the  population.  But  even  precisians, 
I  believe,  would  include  Scotch  with  English,  under  this  term,  while  North 
of  Ireland  people,  largely  descended  from  those  races,  and  they  are  very 
numerous,  in  Ontario  especially,  would  feel  anything  but  insulted  by  this 
title.     Since  a  large  portion  of  the  adults  of  the    English-speaking  prov- 


.iWMfcian..T-ltijMainnmM 


U//^y      542  CANADA'S   ACTUAL   CONDITION 

^  .k,  y  inces  are  immigrants  from  the  United  Kingdom,  there  is  the  less  inappro- 
"  priateness  in  the  naine  of  "  Hritisli,"  though  in  strict  definition  "  British 
Canadians"  may  be  tlie  preferable  term  for  their  children.  "The  most 
intelligible  terms  are  Canadians  and  TVcnch  Canadians,"  says  Mr.  Griffin  ; 
but  any  one  acquainted  with  the  habits  of  the  people  of  the  Dominion 
knows  that,  in  speaking  of  the  great  sections  separately,  the  word 
"  Canadian  "  is  generally  applied  to  the  French,  "  British  "  being  used  to 
cover  all  of  British  and  Irish  origin.  I  thought,  moreover,  England  and  Ire- 
land were  styled  Great  Britain.  The  inhabitants  of  Canada  could  properly 
be  called  "Canadians,"  which  term  may,  in  future,  be  still  more  employed. 
I  will  not  pick  holes  in  Mr.  Griffin's  narrative  for  the  purpose  of  fault- 
finding, but  I  deem  it  right  to  correct  important  errors  calculated  to  mis- 
lead certain  of  your  readers  not  well  versed  in  Dominion  affairs.  At  the 
outset  he  states  confederation  was  carried  by  a  narrow  majority  in  most 
of  the  provinces.  Well,  in  the  Legislature  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada, 
the  principal  provinces,  it  was  carried  in  1865  by  91  to  33  ;  and  although 
rejected  in  New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia,  at  first,  it  was  adopted  a  year 
or  so  after,  so  as  to  allow  the  New  Dominion  to  be  proclaimed  on  ist  July, 
1867.  I  will  not  notice  at  length  the  way  in  which  my  opponent  disposes 
of  the  old  and  well-known  Canadian  parties.  Blcns,  Tories  and  Conserv- 
atives, are  now  labeled  "  Dominionists,"  while  Rojij^cs,  Clear  Grits  and 
Liberals,  are  transformed  into  "  Provincialists."  I  admit  the  distinction 
has  the  charm  of  novelty,  but  it  is  largely  fanciful  and  misleading.  The 
leaders  of  those  old  parties  would  not  know  themselves  under  the  new 
names.  The  distinction  does  not  clear  up  tlie  question,  as  there  are  many 
in  each  party  holding  political  and  constitutional  views  which,  according 
to  this  discrimination,  would  entitle  them  to  be  ranked  v/ith  the  opposite, 
with  the  main  principles  of  which  they  entertain  no  sympathy  whatever. 
For  example,  though  the  Liberals,  in  accordance  with  the  Federal  con- 
stitution, oppose  undue  interference  with  provincial  affairs  by  the  general 
government  at  Ottawa,  they  aim  at  no  invasion  of  Federal  rights  or  assault 
upon  Federal  interests.  Nor  would  the  Quebec  French  Tories  favor  Ot- 
tawa interference  with  their  provincial  rights  or  prejudices  even,  all  the 
local  authorities,  in  fact,  feeling  alike  in  this  respect. 

The  ill-feeling  that  has  prevailed  between  the  Liberal  Ontario  govern- 
ment and  the  Dominion  Conservative  government  for  several  years  forms 
a  serious  obstacle  to  Canadian  progress  as  well  as  a  solid  menace  to  con- 
federation. The  Dominion  premier  feels  thwarted  by  Ontario  ministerial 
opposition  in  regard  to  local  measures  and  questions.  If  the  "  Domin, 
ionists"  wish   to    speedily   wreck    the   actual    Federal    constitution,  they 


•ilMaMMtM 


I  CANADA'S   ACTUAL  CONDITION  543 

will  actempt  to  appropriate  rights  or  powers  belonging  to  the  provinces. 

The  present  union  is  borne  with  impatience  etiough   by  large  numbers  in 

all  the  provinces  ;  it  is  still  on   trial,  many  seriously  doubting  its   perma- 

I  nence,  unless  great  improvement  in  the  circumstances  and  temper  of  the 

.  people  takes  place,  while  a  closer,  a  legislative  union  would  prove  but  the 

signal  for  an  early  break-up  of  the  Dominion. 
,  We  are  told  that  the  "  Dominionists"  have   been   in  power  ever  since 

'  confederation,  with  the  exception  of  five  years,  and  '*  while  all  their  hopes 

have  not  been  realized,  much  has  been  accomplished  ;  and  nothing  but  a 
one-sided  study  of  events  could  make  any  unprejudiced   person  believe 
that  the  Dominion  is  undergoing  a  process  of  disintegration."     It  is  grati- 
''  fying  to  see  my  opponent  admit  any  Conservative  or  Dominion  failure,  but 

1  in  view  of  the  facts  I    mentioned  in  my  first   article,  touching   Canadian 

provincial  jars  and  race  troubles,  the  serious  and  long-continued  business 
distress,  the  enormous  increase  of  the  public  debt,  about  trebled  since  con- 
federation, the  almost  stand-still  condition  of  the  population  of  late  years, 
even  in  progressive  Ontario,  the  declining  condition  of  Quebec,  the  deficits 
in  the  revenue  of  that  and  other  provinces,  and  of  the  Dominion  revenue 
itself,  Mr.  Griffin  might  have  been  more  candid  in  this  avowal.  Regard- 
ing "  the  political  consolidation  of  the  country,"  "  fast  bringing  about 
material  consolidation,  and  the  growth  of  national  sentiment  .  ,  . 
commensurate  to  the  progress  that  has  been  made,"  I  shall  mention 
some  things  rather  in  conflict  with  my  critic's  assumptions  and  accompany- 
ing conclusions.  He  cites  the  railway  and  canal  connections  made  of  late 
years,  to  impress  upon  us  the  oxtent  and  greatness  of  the  material  ties,  so 
prolific  of  other  advantages.  The  list  of  new  railways  includes  the 
Grand  Trunk,  with  its  2,694  miles ;  Great  Western,  with  about  800  miles, 
and  other  shorter  roads,  the  greater  portion  of  which  were  constructed  and 
working  at  the  date  of  confederation.  Mr.  Brydges,  for  many  years  mana- 
ger of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  reported  in  1875  that  the  mileage  of  the 
then  existing  Canadian  railways  reached  4,957  miles.  Mr.  Griffin  was,  there- 
fore, "  hasty  "  in  asserting  that,  "  at  the  time  of  confederation,  Canada 
was  almost  without  railways  ;"  and  also  in  including  the  Welland  Canal  in 
recent  works,  it  having  been  made  so  long  ago  as  1829.  The  Intercolonial 
and  Canadian  Pacific  have  been  constructed  since  the  Union,  the  former 
costing  some  $35,000,000,  and,  as  yet,  hardly  paying  expenses;  the  suc- 
cess of  the  latter  still  remaining  to  be  proven.  It  has  cost  the  Dominion 
some  $55,000,000  to  $60,000,000,  and  though  it  is  paying  back  now 
$20,000,000  of  the  late  government  $30,000,000  loan,  Sir  Richard  Cart- 
wright,  Finance  Minister  for  the  Liberal  Government  from   1873  to   1878, 


544  CANADA'S   ACTUAL  CONDITION 

asserts  that  this  offer  means  but  60  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  contends  for 
the  hundredth  time  that  the  road  has  greatly  injured  Canada,  enormously 
increasing  its  debt,  and  preventing  a  moderately  rapid  settlement  of  the 
North-west  by  the  various  evils  of  a  heartless  monopoly.  The  Liberals 
still  insist  it  was  built  unnecessarily  through  the  600  miles  of  hyperborean 
wilderness  north  of  Lake  Superior,  and  through  hundreds  of  miles  of 
alkali  and  other  wastes,  possessing  no  population  but  wandering  bands  of 
savages  west  of  Manitoba,  this  side  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Now  what  is 
the  basis  of  the  local  freight  trade  for  this  immense  and  costly  rail- 
way, in  the  700  miles  between  Manitoba  and  the  Rockies?  According 
to  a  recent  government  report,  the  total  population  in  the  North-west 
Territories  is  48,362.  The  output  of  grain  last  year  was  1,147,124  bushels 
wheat,  1,045,950  bushels  oats,  257,479  bushels  of  barley,  and  479702 
bushels  of  potatoes.  The  capital  invested  in  all  industries  is  $771,451; 
the  value  of  raw  materials  used,  $518,428,  and  of  articles  produced,  $1,029,- 
235.     Comment  is  needless! 

Manitoba  is  credited  with  a  population  of  200,000,  which  all  unprej- 
udiced thinkers  consider  a  very  poor  exhibit  for  fifteen  years  of  coloniza- 
tion, with  all  the  aid  of  United  States  North-west  Railways,  free  grants  of 
rich  prairie  soil,  unlimited  puffing,  government  stimuli  of  all  kinds,  etc. 
Besides,  Winnipeg  was  a  well-known  old  Hudson  Bay  post,  advanta- 
geously situated  for  trade  and  colonization,  which  should  to-day  have  60,000 
instead  of  but  30,000  citizens.  The  land  for  miles  around  it  is  locked  up 
in  the  hands  of  selfish  speculators,  leaving  only  a  score  or  two  of  farmers 
where  hundreds  should  be  raising  large  crops  and  helping  on  the  progress 
of  the  whole  district.  Monopoly  has  also  oppressed  and  discouraged  the 
people  and  driven  many  thousands  to  Dakota,  now  half  Canadian,  and  to 
other  sections  of  the  United  States  North-west. 

After  taking  a  coulctir  dc  rose  view  of  the  "  amicable  relations  that 
really  now  exist  between  the  French  and  English  speaking  citizens  of 
Montreal,"  Mr.  Griffin  says:  *'  Undoubtedly  it  would  be  far  better  for  Can- 
ada if  the  French-Canadians  would  intermarry  with  the  rest  of  the  popu- 
lation and  adopt  the  English  language,  but  there  are  no  indications  of 
that.  This  generation  certainly  will  not  see  a  fusion  of  the  two  races,  but 
there  is  no  reason  to  expect  that  the  people  will  not  live  amicably  side  by 
side,  etc."  I  think  nothing  could  more  effectively  justify  the  views  I  pro- 
pounded in  February  last  in  regard  to  the  discordant,  the  refractory  ele- 
ments of  the  Canadian  population,  the  extreme  difficulty  of  assimilating 
them,  as  evinced  by  the  admittedly  slow  progress  of  this  work  in  a  whole 
century,  than  such  a  confession.     He  further  on  adds  that  Riel's  fate  and 


»atMMtoM^i— — 1«»      II  m ■.■■■Ill      Ml :^,  -til  I  iiiMiiMiiiiiiiinMnn" 


CANADA  S  ACTUAL  CONDITION  545 

connected  events  will  have  upon  this  race  an  excellent  disciplinary  effect, 
for  they  "  have  been  taught  that  they  are  only  a  part  of  the  Canadian 
people,  and  that  the  laws  of  the  Dominion  will  not  be  set  aside  at  the 
dictation  of  mob  orators ;  moreover,  they  are  likely  to  take  more  interest 
in  the  management  of  North-west  affairs  in  the  future,  and  this  will  be 
the  means  of  lifting  them  out  of  their  narrow,  provincial  rut."  But  I 
differ  from  Mr.  Griffin.  I  do  not  believe  the  French-Canadians  needed  or 
deserved  any  harsh  discipline  of  their  moral  sense,  much  less  any  violence 
to  their  natural  teelings.  Nor  can  the  spirit  displayed  by  my  critic  on  the 
policy  confessed  have  any  other  effect  than  the  aggravation  ot  existing 
differences  and  prejudices,  and  the  further  postponement  of  that  union 
and  mutual  respect  between  the  chief  Canadian  races,  which  would  un- 
doubtedly benefit  them  largely. 

But  what  could  look  more  extraordinary  than  the  following  assertion  ? 
"  The  only  question  that  ever  threatened  trouble  was  the  hanging  of  Kiel, 
and  the  excitement  over  that  has  almost  entirely  subsided  without  any  evil 
effects,"  Really  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  that  Mr.  Griffin  lives  in  Montreal  I 
Kiel's  execution  forms  at  present  writing  the  subject  of  a  momentous  de- 
bate in  the  local  Parliament  of  Quebec.  And  did  it  not  occupy  the  Domin- 
ion Parliament  a  large  part  of  last  March  ?  many  predicting  a  government 
defeat,  although  it  was  subsequently  sustained  by  a  majority  of  94.  The 
vote,  however,  was  not  a  strictly  party  one,  over  20  Liberals  approving  the 
government  action  in  this  matter  and  many  French-Canadians  condemning 
it.  The  Liberal  leader,  Hon.  Mr.  Blake,  denounced  Kiel's  hanging  in  a 
nificent  five  hours'  speech,  his  French-Canadian  colleague,  Hon.  Mr. 
Laurier,  making  an  oration  of  several  hours'  length,  on  the  same  side.  The 
speech  of  the  latter  has  been  pronounced  by  many  persons  the  finest  made 
at  Ottawa  since  confederation.  Even  before  this  great  impressive  parlia- 
mentary protest  against  ministerial  action  there  were  abundant  evidences 
of  French-Canadian  dissatisfaction  with  the  North-west  policy,  and  of  a 
sense  of  injustice  and  soreness  which  would  produce  important  results  for 
many  a  day,  certainly  till  after  the  next  election.  Mr.  Griffin  tells  us  also 
that  neither  Kiel  nor  the  half-breeds  appealed  to  the  government,  an  asser- 
tion completely  disproved  by  the  statements  and  events  of  the  Kiel  con- 
troversy as  well  as  by  the  speeches  of  clergymen  and  members  of  Parlia- 
ment. Since  last  November,  I,  too,  believe  that  by  even  tardy  attention 
to  the  Metis  petitions,  by  a  good  prospect  of  redress  even  a  few  weeks 
before  the  Duck  Lake  catastrophe,  the  insurrection  could  have  been 
prevented  ;  but,  as  'Mr.  Laurier  too  truly  and  pathetically  exclaimed  in 
his  famous  speech,  it  was  then  "  too  late,  too  late''     And  the  Dominion 


54^j  Canada's  actual  condition 

is  payiiijjf  a  terrible  price  in  blood  and  treasure  for  this  indifference  to 
the  claims  of  a  portion  of  her  people — the  §8,000,000  lost  ^ive  but  ;i 
faint  idea  of  the  money  sacrifice. 

Here  is  an  equally  strange  statement:  ".  .  .  .  There  is  no  evidence 
the  Orangemen  interfered  in  the  matter,  in  any  way."  Every  one  in 
Canada  knows  that  the  Orangemen  were  deeply  interested  in  the  Kiel 
execution,  on  account  of  the  latter  ordering  the  shooting  of  one  of  their 
members,  Scott,  in  1870,  and  that  the  government  at  Ottawa  feared  the 
effect  upon  this  powerful  organization  of  a  commutation  of  sentence. 
I  have  seen  resolutions  of  one  Lodge  in  Ontario  calling  for  the  hanging, 
and  I  have  a  copy  of  those  of  a  Manitoba  Lodge,  No.  1406,  passed  at 
Morris,  October  22  last,  ending  as  follows :  "  Resolved  also  :  That  should 
the  government  yiekl  to  French  rule  and  draw  upon  itself  the  contempt 
of  all  civilized  society,  we  can  only  say,  '  What  portion  have  we  with  such 
a  government  ?  '  '  To  thy  tents  !  O  Israel.'  '  Now  see  to  thy  house.'  '  No 
loyal  man  can  ever  again  rush  to  the  rescue  of  such  a  despisable  body,  un- 
worthy the  name  of  government.'  " 

In  the  paragraph  beginning,  "Canada  is  not  a  paradise,  nor  will  it  ever 
be,"  we  are  told  "it  has  its  peculiar  troubles,  as  other  countries  have  ;  but 
nowhere  else  are  prosperity  and  liberty,  without  license,  more  general.  The 
standard  of  the  judiciary  is  very  high,  lynch  law  is  never  heard  of,  even  in 
the  new  settlements,  and  divorces  are  almost  unknown."  I  am  happy  to 
bear  testimony  to  the  absence  of  the  two  latter  evils,  which  reflects  credit- 
ably upon  the  sound  moral  sentiment  of  the  majority.  Long  may  this 
condition  of  things  prevail !  As  to  the  judiciary,  it  is  also  but  fair  to  state 
that,  although  most  of  the  appointments  are  governed  by  political  influ- 
ence and  personal  objects,  Canada  has  many  honest  and  efficient  judges. 
Nobody,  however,  imagines  that  were  the  Dominion  to  link  her  political 
fortunes  \\  ith  this  republic,  her  moral  degradation  would  immediately  en- 
sue. Not  to  scrutinize  Canadian  ways,  political  and  other  practices,  too 
closely,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  there  is  a  good  deal  of  glass  in  the  Canadian 
House — that  political  corruption,  including  the  bribing  of  members  of  Par- 
liament, and  other  party  supporters,  at  the  expense  of  the  public  resources, 
timber  limits,  ranches,  contracts,  and  fat  sinecures.  East  and  West,  is  a 
vice  rather  prevalent  at  Ottawa,  not  to  mention  Quebec,  where  the  corrup- 
tions and  iniquities  of  the  famous  Chapleau  government  nearly  ruined 
that  province.  Able  and  upright  members  in  both  Parliaments,  men  of 
veracity  and  high  personal  character,  give  names  and  particulars  in  sup- 
port of  such  charges  against  the  government,  on  the  strength  of  official 
returns  and  other  reliable  information. 


'Tiiin^ii  II       "I  niuiiii 


CANADA'S  ACTUAL  CONDITION  547 

In  reference  to  Mr.  Griffin's  attempt  to  combat  a  portion  of  my  state- 
ment in  regard  to  the  condition  of  the  provinces  to  the  North,  their 
progress  in  population  and  taxation,  as  compared  with  the  taxation  of  the 
United  States,  information  that  has  since  been  pubhsiied,  including  the 
budget  speech  of  the  Canadian  Finance  Minister,  Mon.  Mr.  McLehm,  and 
the  reply  of  Sir  Richard  Cartwright,  shows  most  forcibly  that  I  have  under- 
stated, and  not  overstated,  my  case.  F"or  the  sake  of  brevity,  I  will  notice 
but  a  few  telling  and  suggestive  facts  in  this  connection.  For  instance, 
Newfoundland's  revenue  this  year  has  fallen  short  of  the  estimates  by 
$107,000,  accompanying  an  over-expenditure  during  the  same  period; 
Nova  Scotia  renews  her  demands  in  decidedly  emphatic  terms  for  an  in- 
crease of  subsidy  from  the  Dominion  government  ;  and  the  discontent 
prevailing  in  New  Brunswick,  Newfoundland,  and  Prince  Edward's  Island 
against  the  Dominion  Government  is  notorious  to  all  who  read  the  papers 
from  those  provinces.  The  opposition  of  the  Maritime  province  people  to 
United  States  vessels  landing  and  shipping  fish  in  bond  to  the  Republic 
may  lead  to  trouble  between  both  countries  and  a  serious  controversy 
between  Canada  and  England.  Another  diflficulty  which  may  prove  a 
great  strain  on  the  Federal  bond  is  Ontario's  threat  to  demand  repara- 
tion from  the  Ottawa  government  for  assistance  to  railways  of  other  prov- 
inces, having  built  her  own  unaided.  And  besides,  the  smaller,  poorer 
provinces  have  contracted  the  habit  of  rushing  to  the  Dominion,  hat  in 
hand,  for  additional  subsidy,  when  need  strikes,  the  concession  of  which 
increases  the  general  taxation,  demoralizes  the  suppliants,  and  affords  the 
reigning  Ministers  mischievous  opportunities  of  political  corruption,  of 
which  the  Ottaw^a  Government  has  fully  availed  itself.  Local  blundering 
and  extravagance  are  thus  dangerously  encouraged. 

Then  as  to  the  growth  of  the  Canadian  population,  truth  compels  the 
reiteration  of  assertions  not  complimentary  to  the  Canadian  system  and 
policy  since  confederation.  The  population  has  declined  in  some  of  the 
provinces,  and  in  others  it  is  of  slow  growth,  if  not  of  the  stand-still  charac- 
ter. The  smaller  population  is  unquestionably  due  to  emigration  to  the 
United  States.  A  late  number  of  The  Chicago  Times  says  on  the  subject  : 
"...  There  are  now  living  in  the  North-eastern  States  more  than  750,000 
persons — native  Canadians — who  have  settled  there  within  a  comparatively 
short  period,  and  in  the  North-western  States  and  Territories  over  500,000. 
.  .  .  In  addition  to  this  there  are  on  the  Pacific  slope  about  50.000 
more,  raising  the  total  to  1,300,000,  which  is  more  than  one-fourth  of  the 
present  population  of  the  Dominion."  I  may  add  that  Sir  Richard,  in 
his  speech  on  the  budget,  last  month,  put  the  number  of  Canadians  in  the 


548  CANADA  S   ACTUAL  CONDITION 

United  States,  up  to  the  present,  at  two  millions,  denouncinfr  the  extrava- 
gance, corruption,  and  general  misgovernment  of  the  Dominion,  with  its 
high  tariff  and  neglected  resources,  as  the  chief  cause  of  this  enormous 
loss.  With  a  debt  of  tiearly  $300,000,000,  and  a  large  deficit  this  year, 
with  additional  taxation,  to  pay  for  the  late  provoked  rebellion,  mono- 
polies like  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  and  such  unprofitable  works  as 
the  Intercolonial  Railway,  etc.,  it  was  no  wonder,  he  argued,  that  Cana- 
dians became  discouraged,  and  left  for  homes  in  a  country  possessing 
much  greater  resources  and  population,  a  boundless  new  territory  free  to 
all,  a  declining  debt,  and  the  grandest  prospects  that  ever  stirred  the  imag- 
ination. Annexing  Canadians  at  the  present  rate  leaves  the  annexation 
of  their  country  only  a  question  of  time  ! 

My  opponent  thinks  me  wrong  in  saying  that,  however  injured  in  feel- 
ing a  provincial  minority  may  be,  or  however  threatened  with  injustice 
by  the  majority,  the  kindred  or  sympathizing  majority  of  no  other  prov- 
ince can  help  it ;  each  majority  is  independent  as  to  local  and  munici- 
pal affairs.  He  cites  the  veto  power,  to  disallow  any  objectionable  or 
unjust  local  act,  resting  with  the  Dominion  Ministry.  But  offense  and 
injury  to  remote  minorities  can  be  given  indirectly,  and  without  glaring 
violations  of  the  Union  Act  ;  besides,  party  loyalty  is  a  powerful  force, 
and  Federal  cabinets  depending  for  support  upon  this  or  that  province — 
Quebec,  for  example,  will  hesitate  tremulously  before  offending  such  a 
valuable  majorit)'.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Ontario  local  majority,  being 
hostile  to  the  existing  government  at  Ottawa,  it  has  promptly  disallowed 
acts  it  or  its  Ontario  allies  did  not  like,  though  the  reasons  for  them  were 
strong  enough  to  secure  their  subsequent  sanction  by  the  highest  tribunal, 
the  Privy  Council.  Outrageous  injustice  by  provincial  majorities  it  would 
be  foolish  for  them,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  to  attempt ;  but  the 
ways  of  irritating  and  over-riding  a  minority,  of  disregarding  its  most  en- 
lightened and  sensible  views,  however  large  its  stake  in  the  country,  are 
neither  few  nor  impracticable,  so  long  as  the  majority  row  in  the  same  po- 
litical boat  with  the  ruling  party  at  the  Federal  capital.  Whatever  the 
theory  of  the  constitution,  or  its  application  under  ordinary  conditions,  it 
is  generally  felt  throughout  the  provinces  that  their  best  chance  of  the 
protection  of  minorities,  so  far  apart  as  those  of  Nova  Scotia,  New  Bruns- 
wick, or  Quebec,  on  the  one  side,  Manitoba,  or  British  Columbia,  on  the 
other,  lies  in  the  actual  strength  of  each,  not  only  in  its  own  province,  but 
its  influence,  by  political  alliance  or  other  advantage,  with  either  of  the 
great  parties  at  Ottawa.  If  weak  in  either  region,  the  position  of  an  of- 
fended or  aggrieved  minority  will  be  the  reverse  of  enviable. 


CANADA  S   ACTUAL  CONDITION  349 

My  statement  that  the  value  of  real  property  in  Ontario  fell  830,000,- 
000  last  year,  I  find  denied,  with  the  accompanying  allegation  that 
*'  neither  the  Dominion  nor  Provincial  Government  published  any  statis- 
tics bearing  on  the  value  of  real  estate  in  Ontario  last  year."  This  "  drop 
in  the  value  of  farm  lands,"  to  use  the  tpsissima  verba  of  Sir  Richard's 
Lucknow  speech,  was  announced  on  the  authority  of  the  Bureau  of  Indus- 
tries for  Ontario.  Such  an  enormous  loss  within  one  year,  in  the  most  pros- 
perous province  of  the  Dominion,  he  added,  "  has  been  partly  balanced 
by  the  increase  in  the  value  of  stock  and  implements  in  1884." 

In  conclusion,  I  may  observe  that  the  continuance  of  the  Canadian 
Federation  depends  mainly  upon  its  financial  condition,  which  cannot  be 
satisfactor)'  without  economical  administration  of  its  means  and  resources, 
and  wise  legislation  generally.  For  the  last  three  years  the  farming,  the 
largest  interest,  has  not  done  well ;  prices  of  all  agricultural  products 
being  low,  debts  and  mortgages  have  increased  extensively,  many  poor 
farmers  abandoning  old  homesteads  for  work  in  the  cities,  or  in  this  Re- 
public. The  ex-Finance  Minister  puts  the  fall  in  the  prices  of  farm  stuff 
at  $20,000,000  a  year,  $100,000,000  worth  being  sold  in  the  good  times  re- 
cently. Of  the  finances  of  the  Dominion,  he  asserts  the  deficit  of  the  cur- 
rent year  should  be  stated  at  $3,900,000,  even  allowing  for  the  ^  1,700,000 
of  the  rebellion  outlay  charged  to  this  year  ;  $38,500,000  was,  as  he  under- 
stood it,  the  estimated  outlay  for  the  coming  year,  the  $3,500,000  to  be 
paid  for  the  rebellion  to  be  charged  improperly  to  capital  account.  The 
coming  deficit  would  be  $4,900,000.  In  relation  to  Canadian  trade,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  has  declined  from  $207,000,000  in  1873,  to  $183,868,000  in 
1885  !  With  such  facts  before  him,  and  the  enormous  migration  of  Cana- 
dian and  British  emigrants  from  the  Dominion  to  this  Republic,  with  a 
taxation  of  $6  a  head  in  Canada  as  against  $4  in  the  United  States,  it  is 
not  strange  that  Sir  Richard,  allowing  something  for  party  coloring,  con- 
sidered the  political  and  financial  condition  and  prospects  of  his  country 
most  discreditable  to  the  Canadian  authorities. 

The  above  summary  of  the  leading  facts  of  the  Canadian  financial  sit- 
uation of  to-day  closely  resembles  that  I  have  already  signalized  in  the 
February  number  of  this  Magazine,  as  threatening  an  early  dissolution  or 
material  change  of  the  actual  constitutional  system  of  the  Dominion. 


Boston,  Mav,  18S6. 


^^^i^trsAc^     ^^eyf^'ic^c/L^ 


